Let me say this first while you're all still listening. In NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM is this meant to be an awards ceremony or a celebration of the best of the best. It's just topical because there's a lot of 'reality' going down right now.

Seriously. No one is saying these people are 'great' or 'brilliant' or deserve any prizes, or even that I could get through this list-making without wanting to punch someone and getting so grumpy a bit of sick came up into my mouth. But still. Reality TV is, these people are, love 'em or loathe 'em, and here are 10 of 'em.

Take Ten: Reality 'Stars'

1. Maureen Fromdrivingschool [Driving School] - No, as far as I'm concerned, that WAS her surname, as it was pretty much the only name she was given in everything she's appeared in ever since. Still. She released a single, she's done a lot. She's an inspiration (seriously, what church hosts their website on Demon? Really?)

2.Pete off Big Brother - Winning the hearts of the nation with the unconscious outbursts caused by his Tourette's, the rest of us could only dream of entering the Big Brother house and shouting 'WANKERS!' over and over again: Pete did it. And then he won.

4.Jade Goody [Big Brother, series 3] - One of the most memorable, and also the most reviled, characters in Big Brother's early history, she got so famous that she later returned in 'Celebrity' Big Brother. And I think we all remember how well that worked out.

5.Jeremy Spake [Airport, 1996] - because who could have known that someone could find fame and renown through a docusoap about airline staff. But then someone did. They still make programmes about airports. The lesser ITVs and Freeview channels are stuffed with them. Blame Jeremy.

6.Girls Aloud - Actually, they weren't particularly characterful, I'm just including them because, as they try so hard to distance themselves from the whole 'we came from a reality show' thing, it amuses me to do so.

7. Gareth Gates - Though I was personally a Will Young woman, Gareth was the stand out contestant from the first Pop Idol series. Without him and his 'Pity me I have a speech impediment and may one day be reduced to sleeping with Jordan for publicity' sob story, would every series of the X Factor be the pity party it now inevitably is? I think not.

8. Lizzie Bardsley [Wife Swap] - If ever there was a character on television you thought might actually murder someone live on air, this was the one.

9.The Cheeky Girls - unbelievably still famous on the back of a - failed, may I add - reality show appearance, one of them has now risen to the dizzy celebrity heights of getting engaged to a Lib Dem MP.

10. Nicholas De Lacy Brown [The Apprentice]: Well, I had to pick someone from this series - what with it nearly being over, and the choice was just too hard. So why not go for the man so unspeakably posh that we still remember his name even though he was the first person to get chucked off the show?

Now, that's 10, though it might have been quicker to make a list of 'The 10 people I would least want to invite to a fictional dinner party'. With that in mind, who else?